Severus’ and Harry’s Quality Family Time
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Sequel to "Severus' and Harry's Family Experience." Set in Harry's fifth year. Completely AU, partly OOC, sick!Harry/Sev. Sev and Harry are forced to have a 'quality time' together as a small family. Sequel: "Severus' and Harry's Annoying Family Addition"
1. Chapter 1

**Severus' and Harry's Quality Family Time: Sequel to Severus' and Harry's Family Experience**

_In fact,__I wrote this first chapter as an epilogue to "Severus' and Harry's Family Experience" in order to thank you all for your many reviews including so many kind words. However, looking at the end of this chapter (epilogue), I realized that you wouldn't let me get away with it anyway – So I'm more or less willingly making a 'small' sequel out of it. It's set in Harry's fifth year (without Umbridge though).  
_

**Chapter 1**

Harry woke up with a jolt. '_My Transfiguration homework! I completely forgot to do it, and Professor McGonagall is going to kill me,_' he thought, before he suddenly realized that it only had been a dream. Quickly glancing at his alarm clock, he saw that it was only three o'clock in the morning, on a Saturday morning none the less. However, he felt absolutely horrible. His head and his throat were sore, and he felt feverishly hot, although he was shivering under his covers.

Suddenly remembering how Severus had cuddled with him when they were both six years old, Harry thought, '_I want my Dad now_.' He slowly scrambled out of his bed and headed for the door, dragging himself all the way down to the dungeons. By the time he arrived in front of the portrait that was guarding his adoptive father's quarters, he was absolutely exhausted, his feet were ice cold from walking barefoot over the castle's cold stone floor, he was shivering from the icy winter air inside the thick castle's walls, and he was sweating profoundly.

"You're supposed to be asleep at this time of the night," the wizard on the portrait hissed at him, angry to be woken up so early in the morning, but nevertheless, he let Harry in, who stumbled into Severus' bedroom and knelt down in front of Severus.

"Dad, may I come in your bed? I don't feel well," he croaked, causing Severus to wake up with a jolt.

"Of course, Harry, what's wrong?" he asked sleepily, while he automatically took position at the other side of the bed, motioning Harry to lie down beside him.

"My head and my throat are sore," Harry complained, suddenly feeling whiny like he had been as a six-year old.

Severus sat up and rubbed his sore eyes. He had just gone to bed an hour ago after brewing an urgent potion for a student in the hospital wing and was extremely tired. He reached out to feel Harry's forehead, noticing that he was running a temperature, which wasn't overly high though. "Harry, I believe it's just a cold; try to sleep for a few more hours, and you'll probably be better in the morning."

However, Harry couldn't sleep. His throat was much too sore to ignore the pain enough to fall asleep, even in Severus' arms. Not able to sleep anymore with a tossing and turning fifteen year old in his arms, Severus finally gave up. He reached over Harry for his wand that was on his night table, before he summoned a Pepper-up potion and a thermometer.

"Harry, can you stop tossing and turning around for a moment?" he told the boy more impatiently that he had intended to do, and Harry stopped to move immediately.

Instead he asked gloomily, "Dad, can't you give me a potion? I feel so sore and hot."

"I will give you a potion, but I want to check on you first, son. Open your mouth, so that I can take your temperature, please."

"Noo," Harry croaked, pressing his mouth shut. '_My mouth is much too sore_,' he thought miserably.

"Harry, please don't behave as if you were still six," Severus slightly admonished him. He proceeded to take the boy's temperature under his armpit in spite of the fight he had to put up against his adoptive son in order to get the thermometer in place. Only when he had threatened to call Poppy, the child had finally complied. In the meantime, Severus summoned a headache potion for himself, which he greedily gulped down.

Putting down the empty phial, he took his wand, waving it at Harry. '_No, that's not a simple cold_,' he mused, inefficiently trying several spells to assess what could be ailing the boy. Taking the thermometer back, he groaned inwardly. '_39.1, that's too high for a cold anyway_.'

"Dad, can you give me a potion now?" Harry's hoarse voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Harry, I'm sorry; at the moment, I can only give you a fever reducer, because I don't know what exactly is wrong with you. I have to call Madam Pomfrey."

"No, Dad, don't call her; I'll be fine," Harry croaked, while Severus summoned a fever reducer and pressed the phial against Harry's lips. Harry greedily swallowed the cool liquid and lay down, sighing in relief. He curled up against Severus as well as he could and finally drifted off to sleep.

Severus couldn't manage to stay awake any longer and slept until Harry's coughing pulled him out of dreamland later in the morning. He once more took Harry's temperature, and seeing that it was still exceeding thirty-nine degrees in spite of the fever reducer he had given the child, he stood up and hurried to the fireplace.

Two minutes later, Poppy rushed into his bedroom, waving her wand at Harry. "No, that's not a cold," she said pensively, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Harry, can you please open your mouth for a moment?" she asked gently, lighting the tip of her wand.

"No, too sore," Harry whispered hoarsely, giving the healer a bleary look.

"I'm afraid you have to open your mouth, so that I can check on you. I promise that I won't hurt you any further," Poppy replied sternly, peering into his mouth when Harry finally complied.

A minute later, she sat back, sighing. "Harry, since when did you feel ill?" she asked softly, giving the child a piercing look.

"Since when I woke up at three this morning," Harry croaked.

"Have you been together with anyone else except for Severus?"

"No." Harry shook his head, wincing at the pain that it caused. "Why, Madam Pomfrey? What's wrong with me?" he asked, slightly panicking.

"Did you, by any chance, take a swim in the lake recently?"

"What? Oh yes, no, I mean, I fell from my broom yesterday during Quidditch practise and fell into the lake. Why are you asking?"

"You have Grindylow pox."

"What?" Harry asked incredulously, while Severus groaned, horrified.

"Grindylow pox is an extremely rare magical illness, which causes you to get small green pox all over your mouth and your throat. They might even spread to your ears if it's a bad case. It also causes quite a fever, and it makes people behave very childish while they are ill. Harry, you're already starting to get pox under your tongue. There is a salve, which your father can brew, and I will come twice a day to apply the salve. You need absolute bed rest as long as your fever is so high, and you have to remain here in quarantine for at least a week until I release you."

Seeing that Severus left the room in order to brew the salve, she followed him into the living room, turned to her colleague, and quickly waved her wand at him, sighing. "Congratulation Severus, you're in for some quality family time. You're already running a slight temperature, and I expect the pox to break out during the day. You will have to remain in quarantine here with Harry for about a week. I'm going to check on both of you twice a day, and of course you can call me anytime if you need me. How long will it take you to brew the salve?"

"An hour," Severus replied, still shocked at the revelations. "But I don't feel ill; I just didn't get enough sleep during the night." He rubbed his forehead against the recurring headache and headed to the door of his private lab.

"Well, we'll see if you get the pox. Anyway, I'll be back in an hour to apply the salve to Harry," Poppy promised and stepped into the fireplace.

An hour later, Severus returned to his bedroom, sitting down on the edge of his bed, noticing that his son's cheeks were deeply flushed and that his skin wasn't sweaty anymore but dry and hot. '_His neck looks swollen_,' he thought, concerned. "I believe we are in for some quality family time for about a week," he said to his son, smirking.

"Okay Dad; love you Dad," Harry mumbled sleepily.

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to __Mrs. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A few minutes later, Poppy stepped into the room, waving her wand at Severus. "Back into bed with you, Severus! Don't even try to make me believe that your throat isn't sore yet. You already have quite a fever. The incubation time with Grindylow pox is very short, only a few hours. Just like Harry fell already ill at three o'clock this morning after catching the disease yesterday evening, you caught it from him in the morning, and it has already started."

Severus grudgingly went around the bed and lay down next to Harry, pulling the covers tightly up to his chin as he began to shiver. Poppy put a small amount of the healing salve on the tip of her wand and turned to Harry. "Harry, I know that this will be uncomfortable, but you'll feel much better if you let me apply the healing salve. Please open your mouth as wide as you can."

Harry grudgingly complied but uncomfortably grabbed Poppy's arm, trying to push her away, when he felt the icy cool salve in his burning mouth. "I'm sorry, sweetie; I know that it's uncomfortable, but it will be over very soon and it'll help a lot," Poppy assured him in a soothing voice, continuing to apply the salve in her professional way.

When Poppy sat back, waving her wand in a swift motion to clean it from the remaining of the salve, Harry sighed in relief. "Thanks a lot Madam Pomfrey; that feels much better," he croaked, sounding very hoarse.

"You're welcome Harry," Poppy replied and walked over to Severus, examining his mouth closely. "The pox haven't started to appear yet," she told her colleague. "I will come back at lunchtime and check on you again. Now, since you're both ill and I'm the only one, who can look after you because I'm immunized against Grindylow pox, you will have to look after each other." She slid wrist bands over Harry's left and Severus' right arm and conjured a second night table on Severus' side of the bed, before she placed several phials on each night table.

"You have to watch your wrist bands, and when any of you has a fever of forty degrees or more, he will have to take a fever reducer. You can also take a pain relieving potion if necessary. Call me immediately, if you encounter any problems."

As soon as the medi-witch left the room, hurrying because she had lots of patients in the hospital wing, the two patients in Severus' quarters sighed in relief, before they both closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep. However, Harry couldn't sleep properly, waking up each couple of minutes. He watched the numbers on his father's wrist band slowly go up, trying to pretend that he was counting sheep, but that didn't help him sleep either.

From his tossing and turning Severus woke up too, throwing his son a glance consisting of concern and annoyance at the same time. "Harry, what's wrong? Are you not able to sleep?" he whispered, noticing that every small movement of his lips hurt his mouth.

"No, Dad; my throat and my mouth are too sore," Harry replied whiningly. "And it's so hot here." He kicked off his bed covers with his right foot, beginning to shiver only seconds later, and Severus groaned inwardly, hearing Harry mumble, "No, it's not hot; it's cold."

'_He really behaves like he did when he was six_,' Severus mused and draped his own covers over Harry, mumbling miserably, "It's too hot anyway."

Harry snuggled deep into the covers, before he tossed them onto the floor only minutes later when Severus was already beginning to shiver vehemently from the cold dungeon air and from his rising fever. "Harry, can you pick up the covers and give them back please?" he pleaded, sounding very whiny and miserably.

Until Poppy returned around lunchtime, the two patients continued to fight with their bed covers, ending up fighting over Severus' covers after Harry had managed to kick his own too far away.

"What are you doing here?" Poppy asked exasperated, causing Harry and Severus to back up frightened. None of them had noticed the medi-witch standing in the door for the last few minutes. "Do you really have to behave like six year olds?" she asked sternly, picking Harry's covers up from the floor.

"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey," Harry mumbled, echoed by Severus, "Sorry Poppy."

"Don't give me sorry; just behave yourselves," Poppy replied in a stern voice. "Because if I have to watch such a scene once more, I will take you both into separate quarantine rooms in the hospital wing, where I can have an eye on you all the time."

A simultaneous groan followed her threat, and Severus hurried to assure his colleague, "We will behave now, Poppy."

"I hope so. I know that this childish behaviour is one of the symptoms of the Grindylow pox; nevertheless, you have to try to make each other better while you're so ill and not aggravate each other's condition."

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Feeling absolutely exhausted from whatever Madam Pomfrey had put into the potions, which she had spelled into their stomachs, the two sick wizards lay back, closing their eyes in fatigue. Severus was just about falling asleep, when he felt Harry cuddle close to him, mumbling something like, "so cold."

"I know Harry; it is cold. But now let's try to get some sleep, so that we'll feel better soon," Severus replied and pulled Harry into his arm, craving the warmth of his body.

Lured into sleep by the warmth of his adoptive father's body, Harry remained quiet for an hour, allowing Severus to drift off in a light slumber too, until Harry all of a sudden woke up with a jolt.

"There! Dad, look! The Grindylow; there's a Grindylow in the corner over there!" Harry pointed excitedly to the far corner, where he could make out something blurry in form of a Grindylow.

"No Harry; that's a lion, isn't it?" Severus replied, uncertain about what exactly the blurry figure was.

"I don't care what it is; can you teach me a spell to prevent them from eating us?" Harry asked hoarsely, slurring the words, while he reached for his wand on the night table.

'_Scourgify or Expelliarmus_,' Severus thought but couldn't reply immediately, finding himself captured in a coughing fit that made him shiver vehemently.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked worriedly, forgetting his concern about the strange animal for the moment. He grabbed Severus' wrist, trying to figure out the numbers on the wrist band that were all blurry too. He quickly reached for his glasses and could now recognize a blurry red 40.5. "Dad, you have to take a fever reducer," he said urgently and sat up to help Severus drink the potion.

"That's much better; thank you, Harry," Severus mumbled relieved, feeling much more alert. "What about you?" he asked, reaching for Harry's wrist and examined the wrist band, before he made Harry swallow the same potion.

"Oh no! The Grindylow is gone," Harry blurted out, horrified. "Did you see where it went?"

Severus was just going to answer negatively, when all of a sudden his Dark Mark flared. He gripped his arm in pain and hissed, "Harry, the Dark Lord is calling me; I have to go."

"No Dad; you're ill; you can't leave right now," Harry protested vehemently.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but I have to go. His punishment if I didn't reply to his calling would be much worse. I hope that I'll be back soon." Severus stood up and transfigured his pyjamas into proper black clothes, before he once more waved his wand, placing a concealment charm on himself. Finally, he turned to the door. "Don't worry, Harry; I'll be fine. Stay in bed and try to sleep; can you promise me that? I don't want to have to worry about you while I'm away."

"Okay, but please be really careful," Harry replied worriedly, watching Severus' every move until the older man left his quarters. Ten minutes later, he was pulled into a vision.

* * *

_Thanks for your many kind reviews!! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Severus," Voldemort said coldly, "I heard from my faithful servants' sons, who are at Hogwarts, that you adopted Harry Potter. Could you please confirm, deny, or explain that incredible news?"

"Master," Severus replied, bowing deeply. "Due to a Potions incident, caused by that imbecile, Potter, he and I were de-aged to six year olds. They made us stay at that age for several weeks during the summer holidays last year, and during that time they made me sign the adoption papers. Unfortunately, there is no way to revoke such an adoption, and now I'm stuck with that dunderhead of an adoptive son. Well, fortunately he is in Gryffindor, so that I only have to tolerate his presence in classes."

"The students have watched you and him walking along each other and talking on a friendly basis," Voldemort replied, raising an eyebrow at Severus.

"Of course, Master; I have to do that from time to time in order to keep appearances in front of the headmaster," Severus replied swiftly.

'_His concealment charms are incredibly good_,' Harry thought amazed. '_One wouldn't think that he is so ill_.'

"Very well, Severus. I expect you to spend the holidays together with your son and try to gain his confidence. As soon as you can, I wish you to bring him here. I want him to join my side."

"I will try," Severus replied evenly.

"To try is not enough!" The Dark Lord shouted, cursing Severus at the same time.

Harry winced as his head exploded in agony. He sighed in relief when Poppy showed up shortly after Voldemort had concluded the Death Eater meeting and he had been thrown out of his vision.

"Madam Pomfrey, I have a terrible headache, but I don't know what the curse was, and my Dad must be much worse. He should be back shortly."

"Back? From where?" the healer asked, horrified.

"From a Death Eater meeting," Harry replied hoarsely.

"Then I can't just give you a headache potion; we have to wait what your father says. Maybe he recognized the curse."

"Madam Pomfrey, do you know a potion that would be deadly to take if you had the Grindylow pox?" Harry asked hesitantly, suddenly having an idea.

"Pardon me?" Poppy enquired, an incredulous expression on her face.

"Ah, I just had an idea. You know, Dad went to the Death Eater meeting tonight, and you said it was very contagious, didn't you?"

"Yes; if they were in the same room, they will definitely be ill tomorrow."

"How comes that my dorm mates are not ill, by the way?" Harry enquired.

"At that time, the disease wasn't fully developed yet. But your father is already very ill," Poppy replied, slightly impatiently.

"Ah, all right. Anyway, if there was a potion that was deadly, I would think of a method to make Voldemort take said potion and use the chance to get rid of him forever," Harry told the healer, smirking.

"Yes, there is. The antidote against scarlet fever would be deadly, because of the reaction of said antidote and the Grindylow pox in the throat. Due to the reaction, the throat and all the organs, into which the potion goes from there, would burn down, killing the person after a few hours. However, they won't notice it, because their throat will be so hot due to the pox and the fever that the potion will still feel soothing," Poppy explained hesitantly.

"And prey, what are you going to do with that information, Harry?" Severus asked hoarsely, while he slowly crawled back into bed next to Harry.

"I just want Voldemort to kill himself. Dad, do you what the curse was that he threw on you? It hurts," Harry quickly changed the topic.

"That was a dark curse, but a normal headache potion will do against it. Poppy, could you summon two from my private lab, please?"

Thirty minutes later, Harry and Severus had taken their potions and were resting tiredly. While Severus slowly drifted off to sleep, Harry's mind turned around in a fast speed, musing over the possibilities to make use of his illness. Finally making a decision, he slowly scrambled out of bed and headed over into the living room.

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Harry sat down on the sofa in front of the fireplace, parchment and a quill in front of him on the table.

-

'_Dear Ms. Skeeter, _

_I'd like to ask you a favour. If you publish an article matching the attached data on the front page of the Daily Prophet tomorrow morning, I will grant you an interview about my relationship to my new father. The article is urgent and important, because I know that many people in the magical world are currently suffering from the rare but dangerous Grindylow pox. Please let me help them. _

_Content of the article should be Grindylow pox. How to recognize them: Small green pox all over the mouth, very painful, along with a high fever. How to cure them: With the potion that works against the more common scarlet fever. Attached you find a copy of the recipe against scarlet fever as well as a huge batch of the potion, which you can freely distribute to anyone, who sends you an owl asking for it. If you please could announce this in your article as well._

_Thanks for your cooperation!_

_Harry Potter_.'

-

"Dad, may I use your private lab?" Harry asked, seeing that Severus was awake when he glanced into the bedroom.

"What are you doing, Harry?" Severus asked sleepily, slowly scrambling out of his bed.

"I want to brew the potion against scarlet fever," Harry replied impatiently.

"Against scarlet fever?" Severus asked incredulously, shivering slightly. "Sorry, Harry; I can't follow your thoughts; can you please enlighten me as to what you're planning to do?"

Harry sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed, before he gave his father detailed information about his plan. "You're trying to kill all the Death Eaters?" Severus asked hoarsely, rising an eyebrow.

"Well, yes," Harry replied reluctantly. "However, if anyone asks, I never sent such information to Rita Skeeter. My letter is going to fade into nonexistence as soon as the article will be published."

'_That sounds all extremely reasonable_,' Severus mused. "Well, I'm going to help you brew the antidote."

The two worked together to brew a huge batch of the potion, and Severus called his raven, attaching Harry's letter as well as the potion to his foot, and asked him to take everything to Rita Skeeter and return immediately.

Extremely satisfied with themselves, Harry and Severus went back to bed, feeling that the brewing of a complex potion hadn't been the best thing to do in their condition. However, in spite of being so exhausted, both of them had trouble to sleep during the night, and they spent many hours musing about their plan and if it was going to work.

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Harry felt as if he had just fallen asleep when Poppy came in the morning and woke them up in order to apply the healing salve. "Your condition hasn't improved at all since yesterday; at least your fever should be lower than in the evening. What have you been doing all night?" Poppy enquired, frowning, after her check-up on Harry.

"Nothing," Harry replied innocently, glancing at the copy of the Daily Prophet attached to a letter that Poppy had brought with her, discarding it on the table at the opposite side of the room. "What is that?" he asked hoarsely, pointing to the newspaper.

"That's mail for you; however, I have to apply the healing salve first," Poppy replied, slightly upset with Harry's behaviour.

While Poppy applied the salve to Harry, Severus waved his wand and summoned the letter, glancing at the writing on the envelope. "It's from Rita Skeeter," he announced.

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_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. Chapter 4

_Several readers were worried about normal people, who had just caught the illness - There aren't any, because Grindylow pox is a very rare, magical disease! Otherwise Harry (and Severus) wouldn't have done such a thing! They also know that Voldemort gets his copy of the Daily Prophet as soon as it is printed. Well, have fun!_

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"From Rita Skeeter? Give it to me," Harry demanded as soon as Poppy had finished applying the healing salve into his mouth.

"Mr. Potter, please wait for a moment," Poppy said sternly, her lips stretched to a thin line and her eyes flashing angrily, before she continued spelling potions straight into Harry's stomach.

"I'm sorry, Madam Pomfrey, but this is important!" Harry gave back and grabbed the letter out of Severus' hands.

-

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_As you can see in the attached copy of the Daily Prophet, your article is on the front page as requested. When will you be available for the interview? We had already..._

-

That was all Harry could read until he was pulled into a vision. He groaned inwardly when he was back in the stone room, where Voldemort was currently speaking with Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange.

"The two of you try the potion out first!" Voldemort demanded, eying the crimson potion in the phial that he held in his hand suspiciously.

Lucius and Bellatrix exchanged a worried look but apparently realized that they didn't have a choice and gulped down the potion at the same time.

"Ah, this feels good," Bellatrix sighed in relief as the soothing potion ran down her throat.

"It feels very soothing," Lucius agreed.

"All right; then I'll take mine too," Voldemort replied and gulped down the potion.

"By the way, I did some research at the ministry when I went to retrieve the potion early this morning," Lucius began to speak, sounding very hoarse.

"And?" the Dark Lord asked impatiently, visibly wincing at the pain it caused to shout.

"I was told that an adult Severus Snape accompanied Harry Potter to the ministry on Potter's fourteenth birthday to apply for the adoption."

"That means that Severus deceived me?!" Voldemort shouted angrily, jumped up and furiously stamped his feet on the ground. "Well, he's going to suffer," he announced and reached for Lucius' Dark Mark, before he all of a sudden gripped his chest, groaning in agony.

"What's wrong?" Lucius asked an instant before he felt the same pain and saw Bellatrix collapse on the ground.

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Just when Harry came back from his vision, Severus' Dark Mark began to flare in immense pain before it faded into non-existence.

"Dad! You have to Floo-call or write to Skeeter immediately and explain that the potion causes those, who are ill with the Grindylow pox, to die. They have to denounce the article before more people die," Harry said excitedly. "Madam Pomfrey, could you get Dumbledore here immediately please? Voldemort is dead, but we have to prevent others from dying; even if they are Death Eaters, they don't deserve that."

Both adults hurried out of the room, while Harry grabbed for parchment and a quill and quickly wrote a denying letter to Rita Skeeter.

-

_Dear Ms. Skeeter,_

_I don't know what you are talking about. I have neither written an article, nor am I available for an interview._

_Regards, Harry Snape_

-

He had just finished his letter, when Poppy returned to the room, the headmaster in tow. "Harry, I have put a charm on Professor Dumbledore that will save him from getting your disease; however, it will only last for twenty minutes. So, hurry up with your explanation please."

Ten minutes later, Harry had explained everything and the headmaster hurried to inform the ministry as well as the Wizard Wireless Network about the false and misleading article in the Daily Prophet. He also promised to urgently contact Rita Skeeter to prevent her from sending any more potions out in case she didn't believe Severus. "Harry," he said on his way out of the room. "Don't send that letter to Ms. Skeeter right now. Let's wait for the reactions on Voldemort's death. This time, there should be a body, and I will investigate the situation thoroughly before we decide if you should deny that you vanquished him."

"But..." Harry began to contradict, but the headmaster was already gone.

"It's your decision, Harry," Severus, who just returned to the bedroom, told him softly. "If you want to stay out of all this, then you should send your letter. However, they might give you the Order of Merlin for vanquishing the Dark Lord."

"I don't want that. All right, I will go and give the letter to Hedwig," Harry replied firmly, scrambling out of his bed.

"Where do you think you're going, young man?" Poppy, who had still been listening, enquired sternly.

"To the owlery," Harry said sheepishly. "Ah no, I'm not supposed to go anywhere, am I?"

"You will go back to bed immediately. I'll take your letter to the owlery and give it to your owl," the healer promised, causing Harry to hand the letter over and return to Severus.

"By the way, I talked to Ms. Skeeter, and she assured me that she didn't give any potions out except for the three phials to Lucius Malfoy," Severus informed Harry now that he was willing to listen to him.

"Ah, thank God," Harry replied gratefully, feeling absolutely relieved at the news.

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Severus and Harry quietly talked about the matter until the headmaster returned two hours later.

"I visited Riddle Manor together with the minister and several Aurors," the old man told them. "Voldemort is dead, and he was together with Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange like Harry told me this morning." He began to chuckle, causing Harry and Severus to exchange a confused glance, before he explained, "The minister is so stupid. During the last months he and his ministry always refused to acknowledge the fact that Voldemort was back. Now however, as he is dead, he all of a sudden openly accepts the fact that Voldemort is dead now and that Harry vanquished him."

"No Professor, wait please; I didn't do anything," Harry replied, shocked. "Harry Potter was famous because of something he did as a baby, but I don't want Harry Snape to become famous at all.

"Well, Harry, as much as I can understand that, the minister wants to award you the Order of Merlin first class, and I've already told him that it was you, who vanquished Voldemort. Why else should I have known about the fact that he was dead in his manor? I can ask the minister to keep it for himself if that's what you want. I don't know if he will comply though." Albus threw Harry a questioning look.

"Yes please," Harry replied hoarsely. "I don't care about the Order of Merlin. All I want is to have a peaceful life together with my new father and to be left in peace by the ministry and the remaining Death Eaters."

All of a sudden, Poppy entered the room. "Albus, it's time for you to leave," she told the man in a voice that he knew better than to ignore.

"All right, I will talk to the minister and will contact you later on," the headmaster promised, quickly hurrying back to the fireplace.

"And for the two of you, it's time for your healing salve and for a long and undisturbed nap," Poppy said sternly, glaring at her two patients.

"All right," Harry agreed, yawning.

Unbeknownst to her stubborn patients, Poppy laced their fever reducing potions with a sleeping draught, causing Harry and Severus to spend the rest of the day peacefully asleep next to each other.

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Harry woke up to Albus and Severus having a heated conversation. He lazily opened his eyes to see his father sitting next to him, glaring at the headmaster. "And I tell you now, Albus, that Harry isn't obliged to do anything for anyone anymore, especially not for the wizarding world. He already did enough. Moreover, he is much too ill to attend a press conference."

Harry groaned inwardly at the thought of a press conference and quickly closed his eyes again, hoping the headmaster hadn't realized that he had woken up, as Severus continued his rant, "He is just a normal Hogwarts student in his fifth year, and his only obligation is to study for his OWLs..."

He couldn't continue, because he was interrupted by an absolutely furious Poppy, who burst into the room, glaring at the headmaster. "What do you think you're doing Albus? How often did I tell you not to come in here without the Charm on you? Congratulations, you've just managed to earn you the Grindylow pox. Where do you want to stay during your quarantine for the next week?"

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Ah, I'll go immediately. I just wanted..."

"And that probably was just enough," Poppy returned in an extremely upset voice. "Albus, you will Floo back into your office immediately, and you will remain in your office or your private quarters until I tell you otherwise. Is that completely clear?"

"Yes, Poppy," Albus replied obediently, his eyes not void of their usual twinkle yet. "I can talk over the fireplace to anyone, can't I?"

"Yes," Poppy answered icily, and the headmaster retreated to his office.

"He still doesn't believe it," Severus chuckled, causing Harry to groan.

"How could he be so stupid?" he wondered aloud, joining Severus' laughter.

"Well, fortunately, he doesn't have the antidote against the scarlet fever in his reach," Poppy replied, shaking her head, causing the other two to laugh even more.

"I'll tell you now that he will get lonely and bored and will visit us at least once a day," Severus groaned, ending up in a coughing fit.

"I will keep him in bed," the healer promised and proceeded to check on Harry. "Well, I couldn't have expected you to get any better by now, could I?" she mumbled more to herself than to Harry, while she applied the healing cream to his mouth, ignoring that he was trying to push her arm away with both hands.

When Poppy was finished looking after Severus, she threw both patients a stern glare. "I knew that it was important that you vanquished Voldemort, but from this instant onwards, I will not allow you out of bed until you're completely recovered. All right then, good night, Harry, Severus."

"Good night, Madam Pomfrey, and thanks for everything."

"Good night, Poppy."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Harry and Severus both fell asleep quickly; however, they kept waking up frequently due to their cough or accidental bites on the pox, which hurt immensely. At midnight, Harry woke up feeling so awake that he just couldn't go back to sleep. "Dad, are you awake?" he whispered after Severus let out a few harsh coughs, wincing at the pain they caused.

"Yes, Harry, what's wrong?" Severus asked in concern.

"I can't sleep. Can we play chess?"

"Chess? Didn't you listen to what Madam Pomfrey said? You mustn't get up."

Harry groaned. "And why not? It's a bit over midnight, and Madam Pomfrey will be peacefully asleep by now."

"Ah, I'm not so sure," Severus replied, "but well, I don't mind playing chess. Let's do it at the table over there."

Severus sat on the bed and Harry on the chair, watching astonished as his father waved his wand over the chess set. "Dad, what are you doing?" he asked curiously.

"That was merely a spell to make the chess set invisible to everyone except us. So in case Poppy came, she would only see us sitting here but wouldn't know what we were doing."

Harry couldn't help chuckling at the thought of Poppy watching them sitting in front of an empty table talking to the table. "She won't come at that time of the night anyway," he said calmingly, before he ordered a pawn to make the first move.

Half an hour later, Harry just realized that he was going to lose again, when they heard the fireplace flare, announcing that Poppy would arrive shortly. "Put everything down and hurry into bed," Severus hissed to Harry, and mere seconds later both Snapes were lying in bed, feigning to be fast asleep.

Shortly later, Poppy quietly bustled into the room and quickly waved her wand over one after the other, before she spelled a potion into Harry and silently left the room.

Harry couldn't help giggling as soon as he heard the fireplace flare to announce that Poppy was departing.

"All right, shall we continue?" Severus suggested tiredly.

"Um... I'm losing anyway, but yes, why not?" Harry chuckled and the two took their positions at the table once more.

Ten minutes later, the game was over. "Can we play once more?" Harry asked eagerly.

"No Harry, I'm sorry, but I'd prefer to lie down; I'm a bit dizzy," Severus replied and returned to his bed.

"Do you want to sleep, or shall we play something here then?" Harry asked, still feeling wide awake.

"I know something that we can play," Severus replied thoughtfully. "Let's do a Potions quiz. You may begin if you wish."

Harry nearly choked when he asked back, terrified, "A Potions quiz?" He raised both eyebrows, giving Severus an unbelieving look.

"Well, you have your Potions OWLs in six months; so the idea is not too absurd now, is it?" Severus croaked, smirking.

"It is," Harry groaned. "You know that I love Potions, but I'm sick and it's two o'clock in the morning. Can't you think of anything better than a Potions quiz?" He whined, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that he had a terrible headache.

"The only other things to do I can think of is to sleep or to take a headache potion," Severus gave back in an equally whiny voice.

"Ah, that's a good idea, the headache potion I mean. And then I promise I'll try to sleep again."

Severus summoned two phials from his potions lab, glad that he had left all the doors ajar, and both of them sighed in relief when the potion took effect. "Maybe playing chess was not the best idea," Severus mumbled when he drifted off to a light slumber, not knowing that it would be disturbed several times by his adoptive son, who just couldn't sleep.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the morning, Poppy threw a temper tantrum, seeing that Harry's fever kept climbing up in spite of the fever reducer she had given him in the middle of the night. Unbeknownst to the boy, she gave him a sleeping potion, before she told Severus, "Your pox have stopped getting worse. Therefore, I expect that you'll slowly begin to feel better during the next few days. However, Harry is still getting worse. Well, his case seems to be worse than yours."

"Does this have something to do with the fact that he hasn't reached his magical majority yet, and his magic can't help him in a way like mine can help me?"

Poppy remained thoughtful for a moment, before she slowly replied, "I don't think so. His general condition is worse than yours, probably due to his upbringing at the Dursleys until last year. Remember, when you were both de-aged, he was ill for a much longer time than you."

"Is there anything I can do for him?" Severus enquired, giving the healer a hopeful look.

"Nothing that you're not already doing anyway, Severus," she replied gently, before she ordered him to use the time while Harry was asleep to get some rest as well. "Who knows what ideas he might get once he is awake again?" she mused aloud, causing Severus to wonder if he should laugh or groan in anticipation.

Knowing that Harry would be out for at least four hours, he decided to simply obey and closed his eyes. However, when he was just drifting off to sleep, he heard the fireplace flare, announcing that Albus Dumbledore would be coming over seconds later. Suddenly wide awake, a terribly annoyed expression on his face, he quickly reached for his wand and summoned another potion from his private lab.

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Severus hurriedly gulped down the sleeping potion, and when the headmaster entered his bedroom a minute later, he had already joined his son in the land of dreams.

Seeing that Severus and Harry were asleep, Albus made himself comfortable at the table conjuring a cup of tea and a small bowl of lemon drops, placing both on the table. Unfortunately, the cup just came to sit on top of the pawns that had magically placed themselves back into the beginning position for the next game. Albus quickly scourgified the table from the tea that was leaking out of the cup, which had fallen sideward on the table. '_Something's strange with that table_,' Albus mused. '_There must be something on it, which is invisible_.' Fortunately, he was alert enough to remember where he was and didn't raise his wand to cancel the spell.

Absentmindedly, he unwrapped a lemon drop and popped it into his mouth, letting out a huge gasp as he noticed how much the sour hurt the pox that were already spreading all over his mouth and throat. He quickly swallowed the drop, nearly choking on it, before he ended up in a coughing fit. Suddenly feeling very exhausted and feverish, he decided to head back to his own quarters and go back to bed. Glancing over to the two Snapes, he wondered how they could sleep so well in spite of being so ill. '_Well, they are very young_,' he mused, quickly leaving the room, deciding to come back later when Severus and Harry would be awake.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Harry woke up in the early afternoon, noticing that his father seemed to be fast asleep and that something was placed on the chess board. '_What's that?_' he mused, lazily reaching out for his glasses, before he scrambled out of bed and walked around the bed to the small table. '_Lemon drops_!' he realised, horrified. '_That means Dumbledore was here_.'

An instant later Poppy walked into the room, after the charm she had placed on Harry had alerted her to the fact that he had woken up. "What do you think you're doing, Harry?" she asked sternly, seeing that he was not in his bed where he had to be.

"I'm sorry, Madam Pomfrey. I just woke up and saw that something was on the table; so I wanted to see what it was. Lemon drops," he grinned, pointing to the bowl of sweets. "I guess Professor Dumbledore paid my father a visit, while I was asleep."

"Your guess is probably correct," Poppy agreed grimly. "He should know better than to suck lemon drops in his condition, but I suppose he'll realize soon." She quickly checked on Harry, spelled the potions into his stomach, and told him sternly, "Harry, I cannot give you any more sleeping potions until tomorrow. However, your condition is still much worse than it should be, and I really need you to rest. Please stay in bed and try to get some more sleep." Not wanting to wake the older Snape up for his healing salve, she quickly placed an alert on Severus in order to return as soon as he woke up, before she left the room.

Harry obediently tried to sleep some more; however, he soon noticed that it was impossible. He walked over into the living room, scanning the bookshelf for an interesting book. '_Everything is about Potions_,' he groaned after a while. '_I think I've seen enough of potions for the moment. Well, on the other hand, Dad was right, and I really have to start learning for the OWLs_.' Making up his mind, he grabbed the fifth year Potions book from his father's office, heading back to bed with the book.

Harry read the first chapter in the book, before he suddenly had a better idea. He once more returned to the living room, grabbing parchment and a quill as he went, and began to write a long letter, which he only finished quickly to hurry back to bed when he heard the fireplace flare, announcing that Albus Dumbledore was going to visit. He slid the parchment into the pocket of his robe, which was draped over the chair next to his bed, and lay down, feigning to be asleep.

However, Harry couldn't prevent his eyes from cracking open when he heard the headmaster mumble incredulously, "Are they still asleep?"

"Hello Professor," Harry croaked, grudgingly sitting up.

"Hello Harry, my boy. Are you feeling better?" he asked kindly.

"Yes Professor, and you?" Harry returned the question, tying to keep any sign of annoyance out of his voice.

"Well, except for the fact that I can neither sleep nor enjoy lemon drops at the moment, I feel fine," the headmaster replied, smiling at Harry.

"Ah, by the way," he suddenly remembered what he wanted to speak about with Harry, "I talked to the minister, and he promised to adjourn the press conference to next week, when we'll both be back to full health."

"Press conference?" Harry asked, getting slightly upset. "I thought my father already told you that I'm not going to participate in a press conference."

"Ah but Harry, I know that your father is a very private person; however, I really think..."

"No!" Harry interrupted the headmaster in a very angry voice. "I share my father's opinion completely, and I'm not willing to participate in any press conference, demise party, or such."

"Harry, do you have to shout?" Severus mumbled tiredly, waking up by Harry's shouting that was followed by a coughing fit.

"Yes Dad. Otherwise, Professor Dumbledore won't believe that I'm not going to join him for the press conference."

"Albus," Severus groaned. "How dare you make Harry so upset with that annoying press conference? I'm sure Poppy would have your head if she knew that you anger her patient, apart from the fact that she told you to remain in bed and sleep just like us."

"Exactly," Poppy's angry voice could be heard. Their voices had been so loud that none of them had heard the fireplace flare and the medi-witch enter the room.

"I'm sorry Poppy, but I had something urgent to discuss with Harry here," the headmaster apologized hoarsely.

"Neither you nor Harry will be going anywhere for at least a week; therefore, I can't believe how anything could be important enough to ignore my orders. Albus Dumbledore, I don't want to catch you here again. Take your lemon drops with you and floo back to your room right now if you don't want me to take you with me to the hospital wing!"

Mumbling something about annoying medi-witches and even more annoying parents into his beard, the headmaster quickly made his way back to the fireplace and floo-ed back to his own quarters.

"You took a nice long nap, didn't you?" Poppy asked conversationally, while she was checking on Severus.

"Ah, well, I heard that Albus was coming through the Floo this morning and preferred to be asleep at that time," Severus admitted, chuckling.

"Did Albus tell you that he's going to end school this weekend instead of next? He's giving everyone an additional week of holidays because of Voldemort's demise," Poppy explained, seeing her patients' questioning looks. "If I might suggest something to you," she continued hesitantly, "Why don't you leave the castle from the weekend onwards and go on holidays for a short while, so that nobody can bother Harry with events like press conferences or such until after Christmas."

"That's a good idea, and frankly speaking I had already been thinking about something like that," Severus replied pensively. "However, will Harry be well enough on the weekend?"

Poppy sighed. "He won't be contagious anymore; however, I'm not sure if he'll be well enough. I already feel a bit sorry for Albus. In fact, as soon as he announced that school would close on Friday, and the students were going to take the Hogwarts Express on Saturday morning, Minerva, Rolanda, and I decided to take holidays for a week only to return on Christmas Eve. After that Albus fell ill, but we've already booked our holidays." She sighed. "If you don't mind sharing your holidays with three old ladies, you're welcome to join us by the way. We're going to a magical holiday resort on Ibiza Island in Spain."

"Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun," Harry chuckled. "But wouldn't you mind having us with you?"

"Of course not; the more people we are, the more fun we'll have," Poppy replied. "Our apartment has three rooms, but I don't mind sharing one with Minerva or Rolanda, so that you can have the third room. Albus won't be able to contact us there." She turned to Harry. "Professor McGonagall and Rolanda Hooch were my best friends when we were students. We were in the same year at Hogwarts."

"All right," Severus agreed, glancing at his excited son. "If you ask Minerva and Rolanda and they really don't mind, then we'd like to join you."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Severus and Harry spent the rest of the evening talking about the holidays that were going to start in a few days. "Oh, that will be so much fun. I just can't wait," Harry said excitedly. "I've always wished to go to the seaside."

"Have you never been to the sea?" Severus asked in disbelief.

"No, of course not," Harry replied, yawning.

"Well, let's see that we'll be well enough to go on Saturday. Good night, Harry."

"Night Dad," Harry mumbled, already half asleep with a happy smile on his lips. During the night, however, Harry couldn't sleep at all. He woke up at midnight and thought about all that had happened during the eventful week until Poppy came to check on them an hour later.

"Go back to sleep, sweetie," she told him in a soft voice before she quietly left the room.

Feeling fully awake however, Harry had other ideas and silently left their quarters, heading out into the cold dungeons.

* * *

_I'm wondering if you're still interested in this story?! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Harry quickly headed up to the owlery, handing his letter over to Hedwig. "Can you take this to Hermione in the morning, please?" he asked gently, receiving an affirmative nip at his earlap in return. Harry stayed a few minutes, telling his familiar about the travel he was going on with his father, before he headed down to the library in order to search for a book containing information about Spain or Ibiza in particular.

Two hours later, Harry was back in his bed, feeling quite exhausted from his trip through the castle and from inefficiently searching the library. '_Well, why should a magical school have information like Muggle guide books?_' he reasoned when he gave up his search. However, back into bed the thought '_How can I get information about Ibiza?_' didn't leave his mind, and Harry decided to ask Dobby. He scrambled out of bed again and sat down on the sofa in the living room as not to wake up Severus, before he called Dobby.

"Hello, what cans Dobby does for Master Harry Snape, sir?" Dobby asked sleepily, nearly tripping over his ears as he bowed.

"Dobby, don't bow please," Harry replied gently. "Are you able to buy Muggle books? I would like to have a guide book about Ibiza."

"Ah, yes, they have guide books at the bookstore, Master Harry Snape, sir. Dobby wills goes and buys a guide book about Ibiza Island as soon as the bookstore opens in the morning," Dobby promised and snipped a finger at Harry, before he popped away yawning.

'_Oh poor Dobby; it's only four o'clock in the morning_,' Harry realized, all of a sudden feeling very tired. Before he could even think about heading back to the bedroom, he drifted off to a deep sleep.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

When Severus woke up three hours later, he was horrified to see that Harry wasn't in his bed. '_What has he done now?_' he thought, getting up in utter annoyance. "Harry, why are you sleeping on the sofa?" he asked astonished.

However, Harry didn't wake up. Even when Poppy stepped through the Floo a few minutes later, Harry slept on peacefully. "Why is he asleep here?" she asked surprised.

Severus raised an eyebrow, sighing. "Poppy, I have no idea."

The Medi-witch shook her head, but decided to let the boy sleep. She quickly checked on him and spelled his potions into his stomach, before she said, "I'm surprised that he is so fast asleep. But well, he needs it if he wants to go on holidays the day after tomorrow. He still has quite a fever." She was just ushering Severus back to his bedroom, when Dobby arrived.

"I is sorry, Master Professor Snape, Mistress Pomfrey; I made Harry Snape sleep, because he is been wide awake during the night and is callings Dobby at four o'clock in the morning to send Dobby to buy a guide book. I has buyed the guide book now, and shall I wakes Harry Snape up?" he asked in his usual, excited manner, averting his big eyes to Poppy and Severus.

"No, just let Harry sleep please," Poppy decided. "And that was a good idea to make Harry sleep; thank you, Dobby."

While she checked on Severus, she muttered, "Who knows what Harry has been doing during the night? He's still much worse than you. But on the other hand," she sighed, "Albus behaves much worse. He is like a toddler in his condition. Sometimes I wished Minerva was able to look after him and would be staying with him. I know that sounds evil, but..." She trailed off and held out a phial for Severus.

"I know exactly what you mean, Poppy. I'm still angry that he came here to bother Harry several times," Severus replied calmingly, handing the empty phial back.

When Poppy came to check on her patients the next time, Hedwig was sitting on her shoulder, hopping off in Harry's direction as soon as they entered the living room. She pecked Harry a few times, causing him to stir.

"Ah Hedwig," he whispered, lazily taking the huge envelope from her. "Is this from Hermione?" he enquired, sighing contentedly when his owl gave him a confirming shoo-hoo.

'_Hello Harry_,' the letter that was attached to the pile of notes said.  
'_Here is a copy of all my notes from the last two weeks. Please study them carefully, but don't overdo it. Remember to listen to your father and to Madam Pomfrey at all times. I have charmed the notes, so that they look like a comic to everyone except you. All right; I have to hurry; Transfiguration is going to start soon. This letter is charmed too, by the way.  
Love Hermione_'

Harry carefully hid the letter between the notes and tiredly walked back into the bedroom, placing the pile of notes on his night table, before he lay down. Poppy quickly waved her wand over him and sighed in exasperation. "Harry, you need absolute bed rest, you know that, don't you, especially if you want to be well enough to travel on Saturday."

"I know, I only went to the living room to call Dobby without waking Dad up, and suddenly I became so tired that I fell asleep before I could return here," Harry explained tiredly, already closing his eyes again as soon as Poppy finished applying the healing cream. During the rest of the day, Harry remained asleep, not noticing that Severus took the comic from his night table and engrossed himself in the reading, chuckling every now and then.

Only during the night when Severus was asleep and Poppy had just applied the healing salve seeing that Harry had finally woken up, Harry began to look at the notes Hermione had sent him. '_The Colabri Transfiguration is one of the easiest spells in the area Transfiguration of non-magical animals into magical animals. It was discovered by Leo McNeill in the fifteenth century when his daughter..._' Harry groaned. '_Leave it to Hermione to write each single word McGonagall said. They won't ask who invented which spell under which conditions in the OWLs now, will they?_' he mused, completely annoyed by his friend's overzealousness.

Harry struggled through Hermione's Transfiguration notes for two hours, until he noticed that he was getting a headache and put the notes aside. He lay back and, suddenly shivering under his covers, cuddled close to Severus to crave the warmth of his body, who automatically pulled the boy into his arms without waking up. However, as Harry was tossing and turning around in his arms, unable to sleep, Severus lazily opened his eyes.

"What's wrong, son?" he asked tiredly, worriedly feeling Harry's forehead.

"I just can't sleep," Harry replied in a whiny voice, totally annoyed to be awake again during the night.

"All right then; do you want to play chess?" Severus enquired, glancing over to the table.

"Okay," Harry agreed immediately and scrambled out of bed, taking his covers with him.

They only played one game, before Severus sent Harry back to bed, seeing that he was shivering in spite of being huddled into his covers. They had just returned to bed and Severus confirmed with a glance to his alarm clock that it was five o'clock in the morning, when they suddenly heard the fireplace flare and announce that Albus Dumbledore was going to come over.

"No!" Severus shouted angrily. "Harry, take your wand. You have to help me throw a strong locking charm at the door, so that the headmaster won't be able to cancel it."

"Okay," Harry replied tiredly, taking his wand, and incanted the spell together with his father.

Soon enough, they heard the headmaster's voice in front of their bedroom door. "Severus, Harry, are you there?"

"We are here, but we have nearly recovered from the Grindylow pox and don't want to catch them again from you," Severus replied in a gentle but stern voice, motioning Harry to be quiet.

"But I need to speak to Harry," the headmaster insisted.

"Harry is asleep and in no condition to get up at that time of the night to speak with you."

"Then please tell him to fire-call me as soon as he is awake," Albus replied, sounding very annoyed.

"I don't know if Poppy lets him out of bed, Albus. Harry is still confined to absolute bed rest, and I believe Poppy told me that you are in a similar condition," Severus said sternly, throwing a silencing charm at Harry, who couldn't help giggling.

"All right; I will speak with Harry later," the headmaster told his younger colleague and retreated to his own quarters.

"I will have a stern word with Albus later," Poppy said angrily, when Severus told her about the headmaster's early visit. "Severus, you may get up for a while; however, I don't want you to do any kind of work, and I want you to rest. Harry, you will stay in bed and try to rest."

Harry slept for a while, before he continued to read Hermione's Transfiguration notes. "Harry, I don't think that you're supposed to read," Severus chastised him gently, when he entered the room to look after his son, wondering why Harry's expression was so stern while he read something as funny as that comic.

"I know but I can't sleep," Harry whined. "Can you read something to me then?"

"All right," Severus agreed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "What do you want me to read? The comic or the Ibiza guide book?"

"The comic, once more from the beginning please," Harry pleaded, eager to know what the comic was about that had made his father chuckle all the time.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

At lunchtime, Poppy showed up with Minerva in tow. "Poppy told me that you're not contagious anymore, and I thought I'd come and look after you," Minerva said softly.

Severus put the comic back on Harry's night table, causing Minerva to gasp. "You're reading your son a Muggle comic?" she asked incredulously.

"Ms. Granger sent that to Harry a few days ago, and it's really funny; it's a comic about the time of the Romans," Severus replied, while Harry's face turned white. '_McGonagall knows Hermione too well, she'll never believe that_,' he mused anxiously.

Noticing his expression, Minerva asked, "May I have a look?" and carefully examined the comic. "Very good Charms work here," she commended a minute later, placing the comic back. "I assume these are Ms. Granger's notes?" she asked Harry.

"Yes," he acknowledged in a small voice, causing Severus to glare at him angrily.

"What do you think you're doing, Harry? Don't you want to go on holidays tomorrow or why are you aggravating your condition purposefully?"

"I'm not aggravating my condition on purpose, but I have to take my OWLs in less than six months," Harry replied stubbornly. "And I only read the notes for about an hour."

"Well, I'm not sure if Harry will be able to leave tomorrow anyway," Poppy spoke up sternly, waving her wand over the boy. "If his fever doesn't come down at least a degree, he won't be able to travel."

* * *

_Thanks a lot for your many kind words concerning this story – I really appreciate them! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Poppy handed Harry a few potions, which he gulped down without hesitation, before he drifted off to sleep within seconds. "I'm sorry, but I had to give him a sleeping draught. He needs much rest, if he wants to be well enough tomorrow."

"Do you believe he'll be well enough to travel tomorrow?" Severus asked concerned.

"Yes, Severus, he will," Poppy replied calmingly. "I just wanted to frighten him a bit, hoping that he'll remain in bed, remembering my words, in case he wakes up; however, since we're using a Portkey that will take us straight to our apartment, it won't be a problem even if he isn't completely well tomorrow. The see air will help him get better faster in any case. I will take all the potions with me that he might need during the week."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the morning, Poppy exchanged a few stern words with Harry. "Harry, I will let you go, although you're not completely recovered. Your pox aren't gone yet, and you still have a fever. Therefore, I expect you to rest and to do exactly what your father, the other teachers, or I tell you. Do you think you'll be able to obey to us?"

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," Harry replied, feeling immensely relieved.

"You will still need your check-ups and potions three times a day, you will take a nap at least after lunchtime, and you won't go swimming until I tell you otherwise."

"Swimming?" Harry asked surprised. "Won't it be much too cold to swim anyway?"

"No Harry; the place where we're going to is a magical holiday resort. The whole area of the resort is charmed to be as warm as if it was summer. The air as well as the water will be very warm."

"Ah, all right, that's brilliant."

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

As soon as the students had gone home for their prolonged winter holidays, Minerva, Poppy, and Rolanda appeared in the Snape living room, an inflatable crocodile in their hands.

"Is that the Portkey?" Harry chuckled.

"Yes, that's the Portkey. Please hold on tightly, if you have everything you need," Rolanda replied, and Harry and Severus immediately complied, each grabbing a foot of the crocodile.

Seconds later, Harry felt an only too well known pull behind his navel, and the world began to turn. When the movement ended after an infinite amount of time, he could only close his eyes and nestle deep into his father's robes, glad that his father had pulled him in an embrace as soon as he noticed that he was too dizzy to remain upright.

An instant later, the voice of a house elf penetrated Harry's mind. They were shown to their rooms, and Harry stood amazed in front of the huge window that revealed a white beach in front of what had to be the sea. Soft waves brought the light blue water onto the sand. '_It's beautiful_,' Harry thought, totally amazed. He couldn't even take his eyes away when Severus led him to the bed that was right next to the window and said, "Lie down and rest for a while; we have to meet the others to head outside for lunch in an hour."

"Dad, it's absolutely gorgeous," Harry whispered in awe. The two Snapes remained seated on the edge of Harry's bed until Poppy entered the room to check on Harry and to call them for lunch.

Lunch was nearly as good as in Hogwarts, especially as it was in form of a huge buffet, and in spite of not being hungry at all, Harry managed to eat a small plate of fruits, glad that they were sweet and didn't hurt his still slightly infected mouth too much.

"Harry and Severus, I want you to go back to your room and take a nap," Poppy told them, when they were finished eating. "I also have to give Harry his potions."

"Oh Madam Pomfrey, it's so nice here. Can't I lie down here on the beach?" Harry asked, giving the healer a pleading look.

Poppy sighed. "If it's not too warm and you're able to sleep on the beach, then you may. However, I need you to accompany me to your room first for your potions."

"Of course, thanks," Harry replied happily and followed Poppy back into their apartment, Severus in tow. "How long do you have to apply the salve?" Harry asked miserably when Poppy cleaned her wand after applying the healing salve to his mouth.

"Until the pox are completely gone, Harry. Your father's are already gone, so I don't think it will take long," Poppy replied softly. "I'm much more concerned about the fact that the other symptoms of your illness aren't gone yet. You still have a fever, and you're obviously not feeling well. Now, knowing that the sun isn't too strong and that the heat is only a magical one, I let you take your nap on the beach; however, I don't want to see you running around or even take a bath."

"It's all right; I will join him and look after him," Severus replied, who couldn't help feeling impatient, although he knew that his colleague was absolutely right to warn Harry once more.

"You are going to take a nap as well," Poppy replied sternly.

"All right, Poppy. Let's go, Harry," Severus motioned his son to follow him out to the beach, where they lay down next to each other.

While Severus drifted off to sleep fairly quickly, Harry couldn't sleep at all. '_It's too warm to sleep here_,' he thought, '_and the view from our window is even better than from here_.' After turning and tossing around for an hour, he decided to get up and put his feet into the water. '_Well, I'm not taking a swim; I only want to put my feet into the water to cool down a bit_,' he calmed his bad consciousness, while he headed down to the water. '_Ah, that feels good_,' he thought while he walked as far in the shallow water along the beach as possible. Only on the way back he felt terribly exhausted and was all of a sudden shivering violently. '_Maybe I better leave the water_,' he thought; however, he soon noticed that it was much more tiring to walk on the sand and quickly entered the water again. He dragged himself back to the spot, where Severus was still asleep.

Harry quickly lay down, cuddling close to Severus in order to get warm and perhaps be able to sleep. "Harry, what's wrong?" Severus mumbled tiredly, feeling that Harry was lying awake in his arm.

"I can't sleep, and I'm cold. Can I go back into our room?" Harry whined, already standing up.

"Are you all right on your own?"

"Yes, I'm fine; see you later, Dad," Harry replied and slowly returned to their apartment. He passed the living room, where Minerva, Poppy, and Rolanda were playing a game, which Harry didn't recognize, mumbled something, and retired to their room, where he quickly scrambled into bed, nestling deep under his covers.

"Did he say something about too cold?" Minerva asked confused.

"Well, we're spending these hours inside because it's so hot; Harry probably meant too hot," Rolanda supplied.

"No, he probably meant cold; excuse me for a moment; I have to go and look after him," Poppy suddenly spoke up, hurrying after Harry.

"Harry, didn't I tell you not to go into the water?" she asked sternly after a flick of her wand had confirmed her assumption that his fever had gone up to forty degrees.

"I didn't go swimming," Harry croaked miserably. "I only put my feet into the water to cool down a bit, and suddenly it became very cold."

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but I didn't mean 'don't swim;' I meant 'don't go into the water,' Poppy replied exasperated. "Until the Grindylow pox aren't gone completely, you may not enter the water with whatever part of your body. Moreover, you will have to stay in bed until your fever comes down, which might take a day or two."

During the next two days, Harry felt too miserable to regret that he had to stay in bed. Although it was his own fault, Severus and his colleagues felt sorry for him and took turns staying with him, so that he was never alone. When he was finally allowed to get up on the third day, he still couldn't go swimming, but there were several other things to do. They could play miniature golf or Quidditch, each of which Harry was told not to play more than thirty minutes a day, and in the evenings, there was a lot of entertainment taking place on the beach.

Only on the fifth day of their stay, Harry was finally allowed to go into the water. "Dad, can you teach me how to swim?" he asked excitedly, and Severus, who could swim but didn't overly like it, grudgingly agreed. Knowing that they only had three days left, he taught Harry twice a day, and after the fourth lesson, Harry was already able to swim a few strokes.

On the last evening before they had to return to Hogwarts, Severus returned to the beach, where his colleagues were still sitting, after bringing Harry to bed and tucking him in. "It's hard to believe that the day after tomorrow is Christmas," Poppy spoke up, causing the others to nod their agreement.

"Minerva," Severus thoughtfully addressed his older colleague. "Do you think I could be excused from Christmas dinner?"

* * *

_Thanks a lot for your many kind words concerning this story – I really appreciate them! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Minerva gave him a piercing look. "And why would that be?" she asked sternly.

Severus sighed. "Because I would like to give my son a Christmas present covering another week here on the beach, seeing how much he likes it here and that his condition has finally improved enough, so that he can enjoy his time here."

"Of course, Severus; that's the best you can do for Harry, and I believe that he really needs the additional time," Minerva replied gently.

"That's a very good idea, Severus," Poppy told him warmly. "Just take care of him and keep an eye on him, so that he doesn't overdo it. His condition is still not the best. I will leave you all the potions here that are left in case you need them."

Severus thanked his colleagues profoundly and headed inside to book a room for another week.

In the morning, Severus packed their luggage with a flick of his wand, causing Harry to sadly look at the sea. Seeing his son's sad face, Severus could hardly keep himself from telling Harry that they wouldn't return to Hogwarts that day, but he really wanted it to be a surprise and didn't want to give himself away too early. However, when Harry didn't eat anything at breakfast and everyone began to throw him concerned glances, Severus pulled an envelope out of his robe pocket and said, "I know that it's only Christmas Eve today, but I'd like to give you my Christmas present a bit earlier."

Harry looked at the hotel confirmation parchment in confusion. "Sorry Dad, but what does this mean?" he asked softly.

"That, my son, means that we're going to stay here for another week," Severus replied, seeing contentedly how Harry's eyes lit happily.

"Really?" he asked excitedly. '_That's too brilliant. I want to learn how to swim properly, and I'd like to play with the other kids too_.'

"Do I look as if I would joke with something like that?" Severus asked back, raising an eyebrow.

"Um... no... um... Dad, can we go swimming?"

"No Harry; today we planned to spend the day at Ibiza city for some sightseeing together with the ladies, who will take the Portkey back to Hogwarts in the evening, while we're going to apparate back here."

"Oh, that sounds interesting. There was a lot in the guide book about the old town and the castle..." He interrupted himself to watch Minerva, who was transfiguring their napkins into warm jackets.

"Don't forget; it's the end of December; it will be quite cold outside of here," she said, handing each of them a warm Muggle jacket.

As soon as everyone had put their jackets on, Rolanda produced the crocodile, which once more served as a Portkey. Harry noticed soon that it was fairly cold in the town, even if it was still much warmer than it would be at Hogwarts. Fortunately, it was a bright, sunny day, and the five enjoyed their sightseeing day very much. Late in the evening, the three ladies took their Portkey back to Hogwarts, while Severus pulled Harry close and apparated with him back to their holiday resort.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Overnight, a huge Christmas tree appeared on the beach. "Dad! Look!" Harry shouted excitedly, when he looked out of the window very early in the morning.

"Well, let's get dressed then, so that we can head outside and see if there are any presents for us," Severus replied, knowing from a glance at his eager son that he wouldn't be able to get any more sleep.

"Presents?" Harry asked incredulously. "Dad, we cannot get any presents here, because nobody knows that we're here," he reasoned. "Nevertheless, I'd like to go out. The tree looks beautiful."

Unbeknownst to Harry, Minerva had sent Dobby over to Ibiza during the night, his arms full of presents labelled with the name 'Snape.' When Harry and Severus finally arrived on the beach, many people were already standing around the tree, and Harry watched how they summoned their presents from the piles of hundreds of presents that were waiting under the enormous tree. He raised his wand and cast the summoning spell, which he had never heard before, in combination with his name. However, as soon as a dozen presents hovered over to him, piling themselves neatly in front of him, he realized that with the normal 'Accio' spell, he would have been hurt by the mass of presents. To his great surprise, there were presents from all his friends, from his father, from Minerva and Poppy, and even from Dobby.

"Minerva sent Dobby over with our presents," Severus explained calmly, seeing Harry's expression of a mixture of confusion and delight. "Now let's have breakfast, and then we can go for a swim."

Harry and Severus spent the whole week lying on the beach reading the books, which they had received for Christmas, watching the huge ferries that were arriving at the near port of St. Antonio or leaving from there, swimming and playing in the water, flying and playing Quidditch, and totally enjoying their holidays. Harry also became good friends with the other children staying at the resort.

On the last day of the holidays, Severus once more packed everything and stored the shrunken luggage in his robe pockets before he went to the reception to return with an inflatable yellow sea horse. "Oh, that's too cute," Harry chuckled, musing, '_The green crocodile would have matched Dad so much more_ _though_.'

"Well, Rolanda had a crocodile because it has more feet to hold on to; for two people, a sea horse is more than enough," Severus told him dryly. "Well, shall we spend the remaining hours on the beach, Harry?"

"Of course, let's go," Harry replied, already dashing ahead.

When Severus, who followed him slowly, arrived on the beach, Harry was already playing beach ball with the other children in the shallow water, laughing and shouting as much as everyone else.

"Thanks Dad for letting us stay here another week," Harry spoke up while they were sitting on the beach once more observing the ferries. "You were right with what you said a few weeks ago. This was an absolute gorgeous week of a quality family time!"

"You're welcome, son," Severus replied, returning the smile.

**THE END**

* * *

_I hope you liked this (short) sequel! Thanks a lot for your many kind words concerning this story – I really appreciate them! As you know, I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or correct them, like several people were so kind to do throughout this story – thanks a lot for your invaluable help!_

**_I just decided that there will another sequel to this sequel. It's called "Severus' and Harry's Annoying Family Addition"!_**

_All recognizable characters belong to __Mrs. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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